Land Drainage Act 1961

28 Removal of obstruction from watercourses

(1) The provisions of subsections (2) to (6) of this section shall have effect in substitution for subsections (1) to (9) of section thirty-five of the Act of 1930; and references in that Act to that section shall be construed accordingly.

(2) Where any watercourse in the area or district of a drainage board is in such a condition that the proper flow of water is impeded, then, unless the condition is attributable to subsidence due to mining operations (including brine pumping), the drainage board concerned may by notice require the person on whom the notice is served to remedy that condition.

(3) For the purposes of subsection (2) of this section the drainage board concerned shall be—

(a) in relation to a watercourse in an internal drainage district, other than a watercourse forming part of the main river, the internal drainage board ;

(b) in relation to any other watercourse, the river board.

(4) A notice under this section may be served on—

(a) any person having control of the part of the watercourse where the impediment occurs ; or

(b) any person owning or occupying land adjoining that part; or

(c) any person to whose act or default the said condition " is due;

but no such notice requiring any person to carry out any work on land not owned or occupied by him shall be served without the consent of the owner and the occupier of the land, except in a case where it is not practicable, after reasonable inquiry, to ascertain the name and address of the owner or occupier.

(5) Subsections (2) to (7) of section two hundred and ninety of the Public Health Act, 1936 (which provide for appeals against, and the enforcement of, certain notices under that Act) shall apply to any notice served under this section as they apply to such notices as are mentioned in subsection (1) of that section, but subject to the following modifications, that is to say.—

(a) for references to the local authority there shall be substituted references to the drainage board ;

(b) for paragraphs (e) and (f) of subsection (3) there shall be substituted the following paragraphs:—

“(e) that the notice might lawfully have been served on another person and that it would have been equitable for it to have been so served;

(f) that some other person ought to contribute towards the expenses of executing any works required by the notice”;

(c) in subsection (6) the words from " and to a further fine " to the end of the subsection shall be omitted.

(6) Sections three hundred to three hundred and two of the Public Health Act, 1936 (which contain supplementary provisions relating to appeals under the said section two hundred and ninety) shall, with the necessary modifications, apply to appeals brought by virtue of subsection (5) of this section.

(7) In subsection (12) of section thirty-five of the Act of 1930 (which restricts the application of that section in the case of watercourses under the jurisdiction of certain authorities) after the words " conservancy authority " there shall be inserted the words

“harbour authority”.